Statistics Netherlands (CBS) surveyed the exercise habits of Dutchies in 2021 and found that 53% were falling short of their recommended activity goals.
Now, we’re not talking about some hard-core HIIT classes here (in that case, we’d also skip out 😅). We’re talking about moderate-intensity exercises.
The survey was conducted in collaboration with the RIVM (hello old friend) which recommends that adults should exercise with moderate intensity for at least two and a half hours per week.
Moderate-intensity exercise includes things like walking, swimming, and cycling — seriously, how do 53% of Dutchies not cycle enough??
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Kids are recommended to exercise at least one hour every day, writes NU.nl. 🤸
Children and the elderly win the race
In general, Dutchies aged 18-65 are working out significantly less compared to what they did in 2018-2020. The CBS isn’t sure to what extent the 2021 results were affected by the multiple lockdowns.
The survey asked participants to describe their behaviour in a normal week, however, a week in lockdown likely looked very different from a week without coronavirus restrictions.
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While people of course couldn’t hit the gym as often, one thing that stands out is that adults up to the age of 35 cycled less in 2021 than usual. 🚴
Where the adults were lacking though, children and the elderly took up the baton. Children up to the age of 12 played more outside in 2021 than in previous years and also walked to school more often. Meanwhile, the plus-75s went for more daily strolls.
What do you think of the new research on Dutch exercise habits? How much do you think the pandemic affected the results? Tell us in the comments!
